Mother Jailed In Infant Death

Police Cite Use Of Drugs And Alcohol

May 7, 2004|By Akilah Johnson Staff Writer

A Lake Worth woman was arrested Thursday for the April death of her 4-month-old daughter.

According to police, Savanna Wildman died from hypothermia, though investigators were unable to determine how she got it. Her mother, Melissa Wildman, 28, is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail on an aggravated manslaughter of a child charge.

Wildman had taken a cocktail of alcohol and drugs the night before Savanna died and repeatedly passed out behind the wheel of her parked car with the baby in the back seat, an arrest report said.

About 2 p.m. on April 7, she woke up from one of these episodes and discovered her daughter was unconscious, the report said. She grabbed the baby, ran into the house and dialed 911, but paramedics were unable to revive Savanna. According to the report, the Medical Examiner's Office determined the baby had been dead at least an hour when Wildman called for help.

"Wildman admitted to taking medications both prescribed and unprescribed, as well as cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol. Coupled with the fact that she was out all evening without sleep, I believe this reckless and negligent behavior resulted in the death of Savanna Wildman," Detective T.J. Barbusio, Sr. wrote in the report.

Wildman, who works as a dancer at Platinum Showgirls in Boynton Beach, told police she dropped her daughter off at her baby sitter's house on April 6 about 7:30 p.m. and went to work. At the club, she said, she had about four or five beers, a bump of cocaine, two hits of marijuana, two Xanax and half a methadone pill. She later recanted and said she did all the drugs after work at friend Paul Flack's house. Flack lives in the Tavares Cove mobile home park east of Greenacres.

The next morning, the community's manager, Deborah DiFloria, had to call Fire Rescue about 9 a.m. because Wildman was "slumped over the wheel and a baby was crying in the back seat," and DiFloria couldn't wake her up, the report said.

The car was not running and the baby was sweating "profusely," so DiFloria opened all the doors and took Savanna out while she waited for the paramedics, the report said.

According to the report, paramedics had to use a "painful stimulus" to revive Wildman, who refused to go to the hospital. She drove home and passed out again in her driveway with the car running, the report said. She was not able to say if the air conditioning was on.

"Wildman said she woke up sweaty ... and was gathering her belongings when she realized the baby was in the car with her," the report said. "She turned around and saw the baby was blue."

Savanna was pronounced dead at JFK Medical Center at 3:06 p.m.

Akilah Johnson can be reached at akjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6645.